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Name: Antony Loewenstein
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Wednesday, November 30, 2005

Piers: no elitism here

Piers Akerman, Murdoch's dutiful columnist, fails to understand the outcry over convicted Australian drug smuggler Nguyen Tuong Van, due to be hanged in Singapore this Friday. Indeed, he seems to believe that the death penalty is a sign of a country's maturity. Akerman, always portraying himself as a man of the people, is actually little more than a useful stirrer of bigotry and malice:

"Nguyen, according to friends, seems to have come to terms with his crime and his punishment in a far more graceful manner than those shrilly hectoring the Singapore Government over its well-publicised drug laws.

"Despite facing the ultimate penalty, he has not succumbed to the madness that seems to have affected many in the media and political worlds, indeed, there seems in his writings to be a sense of relief that he will soon be spared their incessant irrelevant chattering.

"Though he has no choice in the matter, it does seem unfortunate in the extreme that death will provide Nguyen with his only release from their nonsensical posturing.

"We now wait for the same vacuous fools to mount another meaningless assault against capital punishment - and call for the cancellation of sporting events - when the smiling [Bali] assassin Amrozi is given the date for his execution.

"Let's hope that more than sports fixtures are scheduled for the same day, the event of his death should be marked with parties."

8 Comments:

Blogger Antony Loewenstein said...

He's only still working at Murdoch because Rupert likes someone with complete loyalty, to both himself and those in power. A useful idiot, in other words.

Wednesday, November 30, 2005 11:26:00 am  
Blogger Bernard said...

Its a bit rich for the hanging hack Akerman to laud the cold blooded savagery of killing an Australian drug courier when he himself was an addicted user of hard drugs.

Wednesday, November 30, 2005 12:06:00 pm  
Blogger Antony Loewenstein said...

Bernard,
Indeed, what do they say about 'reformed addicts'?
As for the people wishing for death by hanging, guess that makes it OK then. As the world slowly abolishes the death penalty, only barbaric regimes (and the US) maintain it.

Wednesday, November 30, 2005 12:22:00 pm  
Blogger Antony Loewenstein said...

For more on Singapore's hypocrises, read this:

http://www.bulletin.ninemsn.com/bulletin/site/articleIDs/F3FB17DCF7223132CA2570C6007A917E

Wednesday, November 30, 2005 12:55:00 pm  
Blogger Antony Loewenstein said...

For a man who wants to celebrate when a man is executed, surely discovering that Singapore works with the Burmese govt is something your precious, bankrupt moral code can handle...

Wednesday, November 30, 2005 1:20:00 pm  
Blogger Antony Loewenstein said...

What, journalism isn't supposed to be merely rewriting govt press releases?
I had no idea..

Wednesday, November 30, 2005 1:49:00 pm  
Blogger Pete said...

Dear Comrade Shaba

The execution of Nguyen merely removes a possible future witness in future trials of more significant drug figures.

You have to realise that illegal drugs are a business like any other. The shrewd profit and get richer (certain policemen, politicians and judges in Australia, Indonesia etc) and the suckers hang or do longer stretches than JI's Bashir.

The death penalty is a brutal veneer of activity to protect the influential.

Wednesday, November 30, 2005 3:21:00 pm  
Blogger Chief Bastard said...

"drugs run along the same slippery pipes as weapons, illegal oil and increasingly young girls, and the agencies paid to stop it are the cornerstones of the trades."

Your proof?

Wednesday, November 30, 2005 10:07:00 pm  

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